Philippines' Muslim self-ruled region facing hung parliament

The Philippines' autonomous Muslim south appeared headed for a hung parliament on Tuesday, unofficial results showed, a day after landmark elections held amid scattered violence. 

With nearly every vote counted, none of the parties contesting seats in the 80-member parliament have managed to win the 41-seat majority required to form a government before the October 30 opening session.

About 83 percent of eligible voters turned out for Monday's election, which the country's elections chief hailed as a success, calling residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, "fearless".

The two top vote-getters -- the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) -- had earned about 35.2 and 32.4 percent of the vote as of Tuesday evening.

BFP and UBJP officials told AFP they believed they had taken 32 and 29 seats, respectively, under the region's voting formula, which includes both district candidates and party list votes.

The two parties were born of a split within the region's traditional powerbroker, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which fought a decades-long war for independence and later self-rule.

The group splintered when President Ferdinand Marcos chose the BFP's Abdulraof Macacua as interim chief minister over the objections of the MILF's senior leadership.

With one precinct having ended its vote at 7 pm (1100 GMT) on Tuesday, a coalition of regional political dynasties that garnered the third-most votes -- the BARMM Grand Coalition (BGC) -- now sits as likely kingmaker.

Moments after he was proclaimed winner of a seat on Tuesday evening, Macacua declined to say if he was already at work attempting to create a coalition.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he told reporters.